HSC 2022: Scots All Saints College student scores one of Bathurst's highest ATARs

After putting in up to eight hours of study every day in the weeks before the Higher School Certificate (HSC) exams, the Scots All Saints College student has achieved an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of 99.2.

She also earned herself a place on the All-round Achievers merit list, which recognises students across the state who achieved a result in the highest band possible in 10 or more units of courses.

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Some internet issues delayed her accessing her results, but when Bella finally saw them, she was very relieved.

"When I got my advanced English result of 89, I was a bit worried that would drag me substantially down, but it didn't, so I was very happy with that once I got past my wall of anger for the internet problems," she said.

In addition to advanced English, Bella also studied chemistry, advanced mathematics, physics, music 2, music extension, and mathematics extension.

Her brilliant results have set her up for a bright future.

Bella plans to study medicine at the University of Sydney, hoping to one day become a specialist.

"I want to specialise in something. I'm not sure whether I want to do cardiology, it just depends really," she said.

"It's a seven-year course, so once I finish the seven years I will have worked out what I would like to specialise in."

Bella's HSC results sit at the top of an impressive cohort of Scots All Saints College (SASC) students.

Five students who received ATARs above 90, while nearly a quarter of all students achieved an ATAR above 80.

The students with the highest ATARs were Bella, James Edwards (96.2), Rebecca Howes (94.8), Dylan Boniface (92.4), Jack McCudden (92.2) and Mia Baggett (89.3).

SASC also had 15 students receive a Band 6 in one or more subjects, representing approximately 20 per cent of the cohort.

There was a sense of relief among the students on Thursday, who were just happy to have their results and be able to put the anxiety behind them.

Courtney Roberts was proud to have achieved an ATAR of 76.6, which will allow her to pursue her desired course at the Australian National University (ANU).

She had received an early offer to study a Bachelor of Science, which she said "took off so much pressure" ahead of the exams.

She hopes to go into the field of genetics after university.

Like Bella, she put in a lot of preparation and she feels like the hard work has paid off.

Not everyone plans to go to university, though.

Jack McCudden, who was an SASC boarder and was home in Yamba on Thursday, plans to take a gap year in 2023.

He achieved an ATAR of 92.2 and said it felt "surreal" for the HSC and school to all suddenly be over.

SASC head of college, Richard Ford, said the school was very proud of what all of the Year 12 students had achieved.

"We're really proud of how the students have performed," he said.

"The last few years have been really tough years for all the students in Bathurst, but the way that students have navigated those challenges and developed as young people ... we're thrilled for them and thankful to their teachers and parents for the way they've supported students on this journey."

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